Alternate Picking Woes

[ceedj]

Ok shredders, I need a bit of help. I've been working lately to improve my alternate picking, but I seem to be having some trouble; upstrokes from a lower string to a higher string (say, G to D). For some reason my picking hand gets a bit "hung up" here. Anyone else ever run into this problem?

 

Also, I know WHAT the Circle of Fourths/Fifths is, but I'm not quite seeing how to use it in practice. It MAY be that I've been playing so long that my brain is simply missing something silly. Any thoughts here?

 

 

[vacuumo]

Try learning the "moto perpetuo" as they call it from Fracture. Alternate picking and string jumping.

 

http://www.garone.net/anthony/music/guitar/lesson003.php (the excerpt in the video starts at "Ready?")

 

If you're up for a challenge, try starting on a downstroke instead of an upstroke on the first note (of the video).

 

 

|----------------------||----------------------||----------5------4----||----5---7--7---5--5---||-7---7-5-8--8-3-7--7--||5--8--8---------------|

 

 

Try that too, start slow, increase in speed, etc.

[ceedj]

Awesome little exercise! Thanks very much, though I think the guy in the video is having the same picking issues I am.

 

I've been complimenting it with this, from Mr. Big's "Take Cover":

 

 

|--0---------------0---||------0---------------||-----------11---------||---11--11----11----11-||----------------------||----------------------|x4

 

 

Repeat ad-nausium, played over A - B - C#m - E. Seems simple, but starts to get real tricky around 110-120 bpm. It messes with my head a bit, since the notes I'm playing on open strings are right around the same pitch as the fretted ones.

 

EDIT: Almost forgot, Palm Mute the above for best (and challenging) results.

 

EDIT2: Regarding the second sample in vac's post: I LOVE the sound of that last Maj7th shape. I gotta use that somewhere.

Edited August 6, 2007 by ceedj